Field of the Invention
The present invention is in the technical field of energy. More particularly, the present invention is in the technical field of an electronics package suitable for portable power systems.
Background of the Invention
There has been a long standing need for portable energy devices, and in particular devices that utilize renewable energy sources. Such devices can utilize solar, wind, geothermal, or hydroelectric sources of energy. Devices can be used to power devices such as cell phones, computers, lights, as well as many other important devices.
Such devices are commonly used in industrialized societies to provide access when away from the electrical grid; however, given the stable and pervasive nature of the grid portable energy devices often viewed as a as a convenience rather than a necessity.
The is not the case in the less industrialized settings, such as in the third world, or in remote areas where the electrical grid is not as omnipresent. These devices provide critical access, and in some cases life saving access to power.
While prior art devices do exist they suffer from a number of drawbacks that limit the practical utility of such devices. Whereas, for example, some prior art devices convert solar energy to DC voltages such as the devices depicted in U.S. Pat. No. 6,844,739, U.S. Pat. No. 4,794,272 for Maximum Power Point Trackers, or disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,969,078 or U.S. Pat. No. 7,379,284 for DC/DC converters, these devices are single in scope—they operate off a DC input and produce a DC output. Therefore, theses devices are suitable for charging a battery, which stores electricity for later use. Batteries are not particularly efficient at capturing available energy, and can take a long time to charge before they are capable of delivering enough energy to usefully power an electrical device.
A need exists for a portable energy device that can provide AC power to surrogate devices, as well as providing associated energy storage.